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Sessions: North Mississippi is an 'example' after Operation Triple Beam brings 255 arrests

TUPELO — Something was going on in the streets and on the backroads of Lee County and the surrounding area between Aug. 13 and Sept. 14 that left the communities safer and brought praise from Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Dozens of suspected killers, rapists, robbers and drug dealers were off the streets.

Around 150 gang members were arrested or validated by authorities as being affiliated with the Simon City Royals, Gangster Disciples, Latin Kings, Vice Lords, and the Aryan Brotherhood.

Over 200 registered sex offenders living within the state's Northern U.S. District were checked for compliance with registration requirements. Around 150 home visits were conducted on high- to moderate-risk offenders on probation with the Mississippi Department of Corrections and the U.S. Probation Service.

"Those that prey on the less fortunate. Nothing irks me more than to have somebody prey on people who can't defend themselves," Tupelo Police Chief Bart Aguirre said.

On Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Attorney Chad Lamar and U.S. Marshal Danny McKittrick, both for the Northern District of Mississippi, held a news conference at the Lee County Justice Center, flanked by federal, state and local authorities from 31 agencies who also participated in the operation.

Lamar had a strong message for the criminal element in the areas affected. Just because the operation is over, don't think you're safe from the law.

"To those individuals who would continue to commit crime in this district, and to those who would take advantage of our law-abiding citizens, I say to you, do not sleep well, we're coming to a neighborhood near you," said Lamar. "You just don't know when or where, but you will. I promise."

McKittrick pointed out that some of the smaller jurisdictions don't have the resources to do such an operation alone, but when various agencies can combine forces, it's very efficient.

"Operation Triple Beam brought together agencies to work as a force multiplier to identify violent offenders, target street-level gang activity and collect criminal intelligence to systematically apprehend the most violent gang members and criminal offenders in the Northern District of Mississippi," said McKittrick.

In a news release, Sessions praised the operation.

U.S. Marshals task force members stage around a home where a standoff took place during the Northern District's execution of Operation Triple Beam, Aug. 13 to Sept. 14, 2018.(Photo: Therese Apel / Clarion Ledger)

“When law enforcement officers work together, we get results,” Sessions said in the release. “Again and again, law enforcement in North Mississippi has given the rest of this nation an example of what we can accomplish when we bring together the resources and expertise of our federal officers with the street level intelligence of our state and local partners.

"The arrest of more than 250 defendants — including multiple sex offenders — as part of Operation Triple Beam builds on the hundreds of arrests that our deputy marshals in North Mississippi have helped make over the last year in operations like this one," Sessions said.

Operation Triple Beam was started by the U.S. Marshals Service in 2010 and has been executed in over 60 cities nationwide, said Mike Quarles, deputy commander of the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Task Force.

“Without these agencies coming together as a force multiplier, many of these violent criminals would still be walking our streets. It was exciting to see this many agencies efficiently and effectively come together for the singular mission of making our streets, communities and cities safer," Quarles said. "I am confident that a strong message was sent that violent crime is not welcomed in the Northern District of Mississippi."

Said Aguirre: "It tells the criminal element, 'These guys are really serious about getting rid of the crime in the area.' We're not playing around, that we do take the extra steps, that if we can't handle it ourselves, we have resources out there, that we can reach out for help, and this is the kind of response we get."

In addition to the arrests, Operation Triple Beam resulted in the seizure of $52,773 worth of illegal drugs, $50,565 in cash, and 76 illegal guns, some of which were military-style assault rifles. Eleven stolen cars were also recovered.

In conjunction with Operation Triple Beam, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives brought in a mobile command center that runs the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network, which scanned in shell casings on file at local agencies that have never submitted their ballistics evidence for entry into NIBIN.

"The hard work of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies working together to enter crime scene evidence into NIBIN has resulted in numerous investigative leads during Operation Triple Beam. The cooperative efforts of law enforcement in north Mississippi makes NIBIN an extremely valuable tool in fighting crime," said ATF Agent Dave Erhart.

What that did was put shell casing information into a database that can be expanded to search nationwide if need be, much like the Automated Fingerprint ID System or the Combined DNA Index System. As a result of these checks and the abilities of the NIBIN system to match spent shell casings to particular firearms, ATF generated 17 leads on unsolved gun crimes in northeast Mississippi and beyond. Those leads will be utilized by law enforcement agencies in Mississippi and across the nation to help investigate unsolved gun crimes.

U.S. Marshals task force members stage around a home where a standoff took place during the Northern District's execution of Operation Triple Beam, Aug. 13 to Sept. 14, 2018.(Photo: Therese Apel / Clarion Ledger)

Aguirre said there's a good work dynamic between his agency and the federal partners involved in the operation in general, as well as the fact several of his officers are on federal task forces.

"To bring them together and kind of coordinate through Tupelo and that area, it kind of makes sense because we're in the center of that hub," Aguirre said.

Quarles said logistically it took roughly four times longer to plan the operation than to pull it off because of all the agencies involved.

"Operation Triple Beam is very unique. It's a template that works," Quarles said. "It lets the community know that we care and we're trying to make their communities safer."

A suspect is handcuffed after a standoff in Lee County.(Photo: Therese Apel / Clarion Ledger)